Avatar: A Time of Peace
by M. Raine
Summary: Aang has a big decision to make. Will he ever be able to find the right moment? based 8 years after the war Kataang, Sukka, Maiko
1. The Windblown Temple

Chapter 1 – The Windblown Temple

The clouds outside of Aang's window blew by softly with the summer breeze. The Avatar watched his lemur, Momo, flying through the clouds creating soft spirals. I made Aang remember what it was like to be young again. A smile twitched on Aang's lips and his gaze left the window for a moment, but only to find his glider leaning against the wall. He grabbed it quickly, flicked open the wings, and he jumped from the Southern Air Temple window. The wind blew in his face and Aang smile grew. Pulling his feet up onto the back of the glider, Aang began to glide next to Momo, who chattered at him.

The Southern Air Temple rushed beneath Aang as he flew overhead. He saw the workers below him waving up as they saw him fly by. He laughed aloud, waving back with his infectious smile. Momo chattered at them too, although the meanings of his words were lost. The mountains that rose around them reminded Aang of what the temple had been like when he had lived here with the monks. He was the last airbender and also the avatar. He had felt obligated to rebuild his society.

After the war had ended the four nations were brought to peace again. The Earth Kingdom rebuilt Omashu and started to heal their burnt countryside. The Northern Water Tribe had sent members to its sister tribe, in order to rebuild their once powerful nation. The Fire Nation, under the rule of Fire Lord Zuko, was helping the Earth King with healing his nation. Zuko had made a lot of changes and had been freeing many imprisoned earth benders. He had been bringing families back together. As for Aang, he felt that he should go to rebuild what was left of the Air Nomad Temples, in order to rebuild the airbending nation. He and Katara had left the Earth Kingdom, with a number of volunteers, and had come to the Southern Air Temple to begin. It had been 8 years since they had come to the ruins and already it was looking like Aang remembered it. He couldn't be any happier.

After Aang had flown over the builders a few more times he began an ascent to the top of the air temple, where he and Katara had made a garden together. The clouds whipped around him and Momo as they raced towards the top. Just as they reached the highest room Aang landed on the roof, looking down into the open garden. Momo perched on his shoulder, chattering until Aang silenced him with a harsh "Ssh!" Katara was sitting in the garden. Her eyes closed and little droplets of water floating around her like frozen rain.

Since Aang ended the war, Katara had not been using her water bending skills in very many battles. She had taken to healing people right away before fighting. She and Aang had come across a few rogue firebenders, who still thought Lord Ozai was alive, but they dealt with them quickly. Aang usually found her meditating at the Air Temple, as though she thought she could heal it too. He found himself loving her thoughtfulness more everyday. He also found that she had been getting more beautiful, which he had never thought possible.

Slowly floating down from the roof, Aang landed in the garden gently. He walked slowly towards where Katara sat, hoping to scare her. Momo leapt from Aang's shoulders and flew to a nearby fruit plant, taking some of the delicious purple fruit. Katara's eyes opened at the sound of his chattering and a smile stretched across her relaxed face. Aang jumped behind one of the larger trees in the garden still hoping to scare her. Katara's smile was frozen in his mind, like a magnificent painted picture. He hoped it would last forever.

"Aang?" He heard her strong voice calling. It was like a song when she spoke his name. "C'mon, I know that you're here," Aang heard her footsteps creeping around the garden. She was listening for him. Toph must have taught her a thing or two, Aang thought. As she moved around the garden, Aang made a quick dash to one of the outer walls. Unluckily, Katara's hearing was much better than he had anticipated. Katara turned around quickly, bending the water in the pond. She fashioned four needles out of ice and she threw them towards Aang. The needles hit the wall with a loud crunch, catching pieces of Aang's shirt against the wall. Aang was dumbstruck, as he tried to pull free from the wall. The needles were unmoveable.

"There you are," Katara said, almost lovingly. Aang had been a little worried at first, but now that Katara was approaching him he knew that being stuck to the wall was the best place he could be. "Didn't you know that Momo would be a dead giveaway?"

"Umm…" Aang was lost for words, once again struck by her beauty. "I guess it just slipped my mind. I mean I really wasn't trying that hard." Aang felt himself blush a bit. He had been caught off guard, that was for sure. Katara laughed and walked right up to Aang. Her face was so close to his. He knew if he leaned in their lips would meet, but he was completely stuck.

"To think," Katara began, leaning a little bit closer. "That I, a simple water bender, could catch the Avatar off his guard." She was so close and Aang had never wanted her more. He looked into her deep blue eyes and he knew she felt the same. Her smile said it all. He wanted to run his finger through her hair and pull her towards him.

"Simple water bender?" He said, breathily. "More like master." Aang was about to say more, but he was muffled by Katara's kiss. It was so sweet and it filled Aang with joy. As she pulled away his eyes lit up and the needles melted, freeing his body. She giggled like a little girl and Aang was about to drag her in for another kiss, when they were rudely interrupted.

One of the builders came bursting through the door, with a small scroll in his hand. He was dressed in his earth kingdom clothes. They were old and ragged, but they still had hints of green and brown in the colours. The man was tall, with a thin beard on his face. His hair was beginning to grey, but that was only from stress, not age.

"Avatar!" He called. "There's a message for you from the Southern Water Tribe." Aang shook his head, wishing he had a little more alone time, but it was time to be the Avatar now. Katara's eyes laughed at him as he walked to where the builder stood. She walked back into the garden and sat down next to the pond to watch the koi fish swim around each other. Aang took the scroll from the man, thanking him. He slowly unrolled it. Momo came to sit on his shoulder as though to read to, although he did not understand the strange language.

"Katara," Aang called with excitement in his voice. "It's from Suki! She says that her and Sokka plan to arrive here any day now. They've come for a small visit, but Sokka wants a ride up the mountain on Appa." The last comment, about Katara's brother, made her laugh again. She ran to Aang hugging him.

"That's fantastic! We'll have to make sure that their room is ready for them when they arrive." With those words Katara ran back into the temple with a skip in her step. She had never been happier than her days with Aang at the Air Temple, but she still missed her tribe and her brother. Aang watched her go and a smile twitching at his face again. He turned to Momo, looking almost grim. He had missed his chance. If only he hadn't been distracted by that builder. At least the man brought good news with him, Aang thought.

"When am I going to tell her now, Momo?" He asked the lemur, although he expected nothing in reply.


	2. The Mighty Ship

Chapter 2 – The Mighty Ship

"Yip yip!" Aang's warm voice cried as Appa took off from the edge of the mountain. The workers below whooped and cheered for him, with some of the children wanting to chase him. The Avatar waved down at them and they cheered again. With a proud look on his face, Aang turned to Katara. She was sitting faithfully next to him with an apprehensive smile on her face. It had been almost a year since she had seen Sokka and Suki. It was hard for Sokka to leave the Water Tribes now, because he had been made one of their chief warriors. He was in charge of training new recruits, well the ones who weren't waterbenders. He left that to Master Pakku, who was still alive, and occasionally Katara. She would sometimes leave Aang for a few weeks to help Master Pakku with the waterbending training. Whenever she left, Aang would head to the Earth Kingdom to visit some old friends, in order to occupy his time. He could hardly stand it when she wasn't with him.

"I can't believe it," Katara said happily, her eyes glowing. "Sokka never comes to visit us at the Temple. He must want to show us his new ship. He wants to show us how impressive it is to be Captain Sokka." Her happiness was beginning to bring Aang out of his sour mood. When he was around her he couldn't stay sad for too long. He was actually quite excited to see what kind of Water Tribe warrior that Sokka had become.

"Yeah" Aang responded, finally smiling at the woman he loved. "It's been too long since I saw Boomerang Guy," This comment made him and Katara laugh like they did on their adventures. As they descended through the clouds, beads of water got stuck on their faces and clothing. Aang wiped the cloud water off of his face and turned to Katara. The beads of water in her hair glowed in the light from the sun. She was unimaginably beautiful. He sighed loudly and Katara blushed, looking away for only a second. Without warning, she leaned over and she gave Aang a gentle kiss on the cheek.

As they got closer to the ground, Aang discovered that there was a fog around them. He manoeuvred Appa towards the beach and landed lightly in the sand before jumping out of his saddle and onto the soft earth. Katara jumped down from Appa's saddle as well and gave him an affectionate pat on the side of his head. Appa returned her affection with a loud grunt.

"How will Sokka find his way through the fog?" Katara asked, thinking out loud. Aang had already thought this through. He took a deep breath and released it with all of his airbending power, causing the fog to roll away. Off in the distance there was a black speck against the horizon. Aang and Katara stood together at the edge of the beach looking towards the speck. In a few minutes, Katara could make out the blue sails of a Water Tribe Ship. She looked at Aang excitedly and he returned her smile. She jumped up and down, waving her arms, although Sokka and his crew were probably unable to hear her.

"Quick," Aang said, turning to Katara. "Get back on Appa. We can go to meet them." Katara was so excited that she leaped on to Appa right away. Aang used airbending to life himself up onto the Sky Bison's back. "Appa! Yip yip!" He yelled and the Sky Bison jumped into the air. The beach beneath them got smaller and smaller. The ship got a lot bigger as they approached. It had a majestic sail with the Southern Water Tribe Insignia boldly displayed on it. It was one of the most beautiful things that Aang had seen in his 120 years of life. He looked at Katara sitting next to him and saw her smiling with joy.

Below them on the boat voices could be heard in the wind. As they approached one of the voices became very prominent. It was a very rich voice; the voice of a leader. Sokka had evolved into a Captain. Looking below, Aang and Katara saw their friend standing in the center of the ship, giving orders to his small crew. Sokka had his hair up in its classic ponytail, although it was a lot thicker now. He had a bit of a shadow on his face and his eyebrows looked slightly unruly. He had grown a lot taller and still had his sword and boomerang on him at all times. He had grown very mature when he rejoined the Southern Water Tribe, but he still held comedies nights by the fire every weekend.

"Sokka!" Katara exclaimed, causing the great captain to look up. He stopped giving orders and saw the Avatar and his sister flying above him. He face broke out into a huge smile and he began waving his arms just as Katara had on the beach, except without the same grace. The crew looked up too and many of them began to cheer the Avatar. Aang landed Appa right next to Sokka on the giant boat and the whole ship rocked a little. Appa turned to Sokka right away giving him a huge lick on the face, covering Sokka with Sky Bison spit.

"It's nice to see you too, buddy." Sokka said sarcastically, wiping the spit from his face. This made Katara and Aang laugh again as they both embraced Sokka.

"It's so good to see you," Katara said quietly, although Aang was still able to catch it. He pulled away for a moment to let the siblings have their hug. They looked so happy to be reunited after such a long time. Aang felt a sudden pang of sadness for his fellow airbenders, who he hadn't seen for a hundred years. He knew that they weren't ever coming back.

"I'm so glad to see you guys," Sokka said, pulling away with a goofy smile on his face. "Suki is more excited than I am, though. She's just below the deck right now, probably sleeping. It was a long trip. How are the temple renovations coming along? You burned all of that old Fire Nation stuff, right?" Sokka laughed at the irony, while Aang groaned. He should have expecting something like this from Sokka. He had missed the warrior. Then Aang heard a light voice from behind them. He turned to see Suki walking towards them, a little slower than usual. He eyes opened wide as he saw her pregnant belly in front of her. That was probably why she was moving so slowly.

"Oh Sokka," Aang heard Katara say from behind him. "Congratulations!" Suki walked a little bit faster and Katara ran towards her, embracing her as they started laughing and giggling like girls. Almost two years ago, Aang and Katara had attended Sokka and Suki's wedding on Kyoshi Island. The Kyoshi Warriors, who were now headed by Ty Lee, did a special performance for the crowds and Aang had helped by producing beautiful fireworks, with the help of Fire Lord Zuko. It had been a night to remember. The statue of Avatar Kyoshi had been specially repainted and strung with beautiful candle lights. Everyone they had met on their journeys had been there. Toph even brought her parents, who had loosened up a little since she returned. Sokka and Suki had been so happy; it was what inspired Aang to start working on what he wanted to tell Katara.

"How far along are you?" Aang heard Katara ask as her and Suki got closer. She still had her Kyoshi Warrior grace about her, but she was obviously not quite as quick. Suki had let her hair grow out a little bit, but she still kept it relatively short. Aang thought that she was shorter than the last time he had seen her, but he had possibly gotten taller.

"It's been about 6 months." Suki said, her face a little red with excitement. "The healer at the village said I should be expecting it by the beginning of spring." Sokka walked towards her and took her in his arms. Suki frowned at him and pulled away for a second, before punching him on the arm.

"What was that for?" Sokka asked, rubbing his arm like a wimp. Suki pointed at him with an angry look on her face.

"Why didn't you tell me they were here?" She asked, accusingly. "If I hadn't come up for something to eat, how long would it have taken you to tell me that they were here?" Sokka took a while to think of an answer. He tried to calm her down and told her that they had just arrived. They continued to bicker and Aang started to laugh under his breath. He looked at Katara who looked as though she was going to explode with happiness. Maybe he should just tell her now and get it over with. No, the time had to be just right. He had to wait for the perfect moment. Katara noticed Aang glances and she looked back at him for a second before returning her attention to Suki and Sokke, who were getting louder and louder.

"He was just about to come and get you Suki," Katara said, grabbing her friend's hand. "We just got here too." Suki gave Sokka another angry look, while he tried to put his most innocent face on.

After many attempts to get Suki onto Appa's back, the reunited group took off from the ship and up to the temple. The crew finished anchoring the boat and they began the long trek up the mountain. Aang had offered to make a few trips on Appa for them, but they had all refused. They had been expecting to walk, so they were well prepared. Katara promised them warm dinners at the top and then they left the ship. As they went up through the clouds Aang and Sokka sat close to the front. Suki and Katara sat at the back discussing name choices for the baby.

"Sokka?" Aang asked with a bit of nervousness in his voice. "How…how d-did you propose to Suki?" Sokka smiled knowingly. He relaxed and sunk back into Appa's saddle.

"Thinking of proposing to Katara are you?" He asked, although that was evidently obvious. "Well, you have to wait for the perfect moment. Especially when they're happy with you. When I asked Suki, I made sure that everything was right. We were in Ba Sing Se attending one of Toph's earthbending shows. I had the night entirely planned out. I had spent months making her engagement necklace, with a little help from Katara that is. After the show, we went to the Jasmine Dragon for some of Iroh's tea. I told Suki that I had to go to the bathroom, but I actually went to talk to Iroh. I asked him to tie the necklace to her tea cup. He brought us our tea and then BAM! I was engaged." He gave Aang a satisfied nod and Aang looked at him in amazement.

"Really?" He was so shocked. "It was that easy?" He looked at Sokka with newfound admiration.

"Easy?" Sokka replied. "No way! It was the hardest thing that I ever did in my whole life. I'm surprised that it was so successful." Then he laughed, causing Aang's hopes to plummet. There was no easy way to do this. Aang was just going to have to do it, and soon, before he lost his nerve.


	3. A Long Ride

Chapter 3 – A Long Ride

"Are we there yet?" Katara rolled her eyes into the back of her head.

"Aang, we only just left the Earth Kingdom, how could we be there already?" She looked into the Avatar's eyes and smiled. She loved how young he could be sometimes. It reminded her about when she found him in the iceberg. He turned to her slowly, pulling his eyes away from the surrounding ocean. Katara was starting to think that he was getting seasick, or maybe he was just bored.

"I know, but I really can't wait to see Zuko." His eyes smiled at mention of his friend. Since the end of the war, him and Zuko had had so many peace conferences that they had become much closer friends. "I've never met his daughter either; I hear she's kind of gloomy though."

"Well," Katara replied. "She is the child of Zuko and Mai, you kind of expect her to be angsty. And she's only two years old, how can they know that already?" Aang nodded and looked away. He'd been acting very strange, ever since they had left the temple. He probably just ate too many seaprunes.

"I'm going to go check on Toph." Katara said, leaving Aang on the starboard side of Sokka's boat. "The boat is made of wood, so she really is blind here. Thanks goodness she brought Huka along" Katara took one more look at Aang before going below deck. He was staring out at the sea with an expressionless face. She worried about him too much. Then she watched as Appa walked over and gave him a huge lick on the face. This made Aang laugh and Katara knew he was alrighr.

Once she went below deck, Katara heard voices. They had picked up their friends from the Earth Kingdom and they were on their way to the Fire Nation. It was a very special week in the fire nation. It was the Fire Lord's birthday and the whole world was celebrating. It had been Sokka's idea to travel and see Zuko and that was why he had appeared at the Air Temple about a week ago. Katara had been so excited to hang out with the old gang. She had been worried about Suki going on the boat, but Suki had assured her that she wouldn't get too seasick. She was getting used to ocean life. While they had been at the Air Temple, Sokka had sent out his messenger hawk to tell Toph of their plans. She had agreed, but only if she could bring her new friend Huka. Huka was an earthbender as well and he had been training to be a part of the Dai Li, until he was rejected for being too aggressive. Toph had met him in Iroh's teashop in Ba Sing Se. Iroh was the another person that they had picked up when they got Toph, he had been planning on going by Fire Nation ships, but he thought that traveling with the gang would be more fun.

"Yeah, so then I said 'Hey! Twinkletoes! What are you and Sugar Queen doing out there? Kissing?! I never realized that they actually were." Toph's voice was made Katara's ears ring. She smiled as she walked into the place where they all slept. The group was sitting around a table, excluding Sokka and Aang. Iroh and Huka were playing a long game of Pi Sho and Toph sat on Huko's lap. Suki was on the other side of the table behind Iroh, whispering about his next move. As Katara got closer, she saw that Suki was passing Iroh tiles under the table. Katara never knew that Iroh cheated, but she guessed it was just so that Suki would feel involved. Sokka had been unable to find anything for Suki to do, because of the baby and it was driving her crazy.

"Hey you guys" Katara said as she entered the room. "Aang's being a bit boring so I thought I'd come visit with you." Toph raised a hand and continued to say nothing and stare into nothing. The rest of them looked up to Katara smiling. Katara was so glad to have them all back together again. It was just like old times.

"How is Twinkletoes?" Toph was expressionless. Katara knew that she was hating being on a wooden boat. "He was acting kind of strange when you guys came to pick us up. Maybe he had some bad seaprunes?" Toph knew Aang so well and Katara knew she had picked up on his odd vibrations. Toph knew Aang almost better than Katara. He had spent a lot of time with her in the Earth Kingdom right after the war when he had been settling things between the Fire Nation and the other Nations. Katara had a sneaking suspicion that she was a little bitter because they hadn't visited in such a long time.

"Aang's okay." Katara lied. She didn't really want any of them to get worried about the Avatar. "He's excited to see Zuko after such a long time." At the mention of Zuko, Huka looked rather surprised. He stopped placing his Pi Sho tile and looked up at Katara.

"You mean," He asked. "FIRE LORD Zuko?" Everyone nodded and Huka went almost white. "I never thought I'd ever get to meet the Fire Lord. This is going to be a great vacation Tophi." He said Toph's nickname with a dumb happy look on his face.

"I told you not to call me that in public!" Toph hissed with a grumpy expression on her face. Huka looked afraid and then he quickly covered his mistake.

"Sorry," His eyes darted around as though his brain was searching for a way out of this mess. "I won't say it again Tophi" Saying it a second time was not a very bright thing for him to do. Toph turned around and punched him right in the arm. He did not react and tried to look tough. Katara's impression of Huka was very interesting. She knew that he wasn't the brightest bulb, but at least he was a nice guy. He was a little short for a guy, but he was still a head taller than Toph, who had grown a lot in the past 8 years. Huka had very chiselled muscles, but he kept them hidden by a long-sleeve shirt. He wore metallic cuffs that Toph had metal bent for him. He wore shorts that Katara definitely thought were too short. Fortunately, he had nice legs, for a male earthbender. His hair was completely black and he let it get very shaggy. He also had a bit of a beard on the end of his chin, but rumour was that Toph really wanted him to shave it off.

Everyone in the room laughed at Huka's mistake and then Suki suddenly clutched at her stomach. She gasped and them smiled wildly.

"It kicked!" She exclaimed. "It barely ever kicks. Here come feel." Katara and Toph both reached out and put their hands on Suki's stomach. There was a soft push from the baby inside. Katara turned to Toph and she saw her smile for the first time since they got on the boat.

"Do you have any idea what it is?" Katara asked curiously. "Oh! Can I help you and Sokka name it? If it's a girl you should name her after Gran Gran. I'm sure Sokka would agree with me."

"You should name it something tough." Toph cut in. She had a malicious smile on her face. "Like Bumi! I love that old guy. Or Ando! He was this super huge wrestler that I met on the road." After her and Aang were finished in Ba Sing Se, Toph left and went on a spirit walk around her world. She met many interesting people and she got into a few too crazy bar fights. They didn't hear from her for three years and then she showed up with Huka. No one really knows where they met, but no one had bothered to ask. They were made for each other.

"Sokka wants to name it Yue if it's a girl," Suki said with a bit of a frown on face. "I'm just not a big fan of recycling names. I like being original. Although, I think Ando would be a good name for a son." Toph nodded in agreement and Huka smiled at her. Katara understood Suki's plight, but it was hard to change Sokka's mind once it was made. Maybe if they had a son he would agree with her.

"Ando sounds like a nice warrior name." Katara commented, trying to think of a good girl name. "OH! How about Ikoma? I always wanted that to be my name when I was little. Mom told me my name was beautiful, though." When Katara mentioned her mother she reached up for the necklace that was around her neck. It was her grandmother's betrothal necklace that her mother had given to her as a little girl. Katara knew that she would one day have to replace it with her own, but then she would pass it on to her daughter.

"Ikoma sounds beautiful," Iroh spoke for the first time. Then he took a long sip of jasmine tea. "Here everyone have some tea. I just warmed it." Katara felt so comfortable around Iroh, she couldn't believe that his nickname was "The Dragon of the West" He was so kind.

"Now you!" He said, thrusting his finger towards Huka, who looked incredibly surprised. "Let's return to our game so that I can win." Huka was confused about the statement at first and them he frowned at the board. The room went quiet and everyone watched as Iroh one the game. Huka's smarts were displayed very well in a game of Pi Sho. Iroh beat him in minutes. They all celebrated with a warm cup of his famous jasmine tea.

"Dinner is ready!" Sokka entered the room with his usual flair. "You guys had better hurry up before Appa gets a wiff of it. He will eat it all before you can say Sky Bison." Everyone stood up at the same time. Katara took Toph's arm to help her up to the deck. Huka and Iroh bowed to each other to symbolize a good game. Suki stood swiftly on her own and gave Sokka a warm kiss on the cheek before following him up to the top deck. When they got up to the top deck there were lights strung so that they could see what they were eating. There were two long tables set up that had some of the nice Earth Kingdom food on it. The crew and the passengers all sat down at the two tables. Aang came to Katara and gave her a surprising kiss on the cheek. She blinked and smiled at him as they sat down at the table, next to Toph and Huka.

The dinner was magical. Katara had a wonderful time. Sokka spent the whole dinner telling his terrible Appa jokes and Suki and the crew were the only people who laughed. Toph and Huka were talking about the dual earth bending championship that they won while they were traveling around the Earth Kingdom. Iroh was continually walking around to the two tables refilling everyone's tea. They were so happy together. Katara looked around her and noticed that Aang was silent. He was smiling at everyone's else's stories, but he was usually the center of attention. Even Momo, who was sitting in the center of the table eating fruit, was more of an attraction.

"Are you alright?" Katara said softly, so that only Aang could hear her. "You seem much too quiet for the Avatar." Aang looked at Katara with a giant smile on his face. She looked into his grey eyes and saw that he was still happy, just quiet.

"I'll talk to you about it later." He whispered back. Then he turned to Suki on his right. "Did I ever tell you about some of Monk Gyatso's favourite pranks?" This began one of Aang's loudest stories ever told. Katara was glad to see a change in him, so she returned to her meal.

The dinner seemed to last hours. The moon was clear overhead by the time they had finished and the crew had moved the dishes away. They continued to sit at the table and tell their favourite stories while the ship moved on into warm territory. Once the dinner died down, Katara noticed that Aang had left the table and he was standing on the starboard side of the boat again patting Appa on the head. She looked at the other sitting around her and decided that now was the time to talk to Aang. As she got up from the table she felt a few of the others look at her, but they all knew where she was going, except for Huka, but he kept his mouth shut. Aang looked at Katara as she walked over. He had almost a look of pain on his face. She didn't really understand what he was trying to do. As she reached him his smile widened.

"Katara, I…" What he was going to say was cut off from Katara giving him a huge hug. She pulled away and gave him a kiss upon the cheek. Aang seemed shocked, but also happy. She looked up into his eyes and put her hand on his face. She hoped that what he had to say was important.

"I just wanted to say…" Aang looked away from her for a moment, as though he was trying to find the right words. "I…well... Katara, we've been together for a long time. Every minute that I am with you I…I…" Katara thought that she saw him blushing and sweating. Appa made a loud grunting noise behind them and she laughed a little bit. Aang looked at him as though it was his fault that he couldn't find the right words.

"Aang," Katara started, but her words were silenced by Aang's kiss. Katara felt her heart flutter in her chest and she thought that she would never want it to end. Aang had never kissed her so passionately before. When she pulled away she felt that her face was red hot. She was a little bit out of breath.

"What is it you wanted to say?" Katara said breathily. Aang's grey eyes danced in front of her and she pulled her hand away from his face. She grabbed his hand and squeezed it gently.

"Katara, I love you." He said without any hesitation. Katara hugged him again and happily looked up into his face. Then Katara realized that it was a little bit too quiet. She noticed that Aang realized the same thing that she had and they both turned to look at the table. Everyone, who had been looking at them, suddenly burst into loud conversations. Katara was sure that she heard Sokka saying, "Blah blah blah blah!" and noticed that Huka was still looking at them, too stupid to notice. Her and Aang laughed and he awkwardness of the moment vanished. Suki gave Katara a big smile and Katara knew it had been her idea to listen. That sneaky Kyoshi warrior.

Suddenly, Katara and Aang felt something big and wet hit her from behind. They were lifted on their feet before being dropped on the ground covered in Appa slobber. Everyone laughed and Katara bended the water from the ocean to wash them off. Them she bended the water out of their clothes and back in the ocean. Katara and Aang both turned to Appa again and gave him a big hug.

"I love you too, buddy" Katara heard Aang whisper.


	4. The Fire Lord

Chapter 4 – The Fire Lord

"Ashina!" The Fire Lord was rudely awakened by his calm nap by his wife's shrieks. Zuko sat up straight from the couch that he had been dozing on and he rubbed his eyes. After blinking for a few seconds he remembered who he was and where he was. Zuko had been sleeping in the palace library, because it was the only place that Ashina and Mai didn't like to be. He took a deep breath and ran his hands through his hair. He fixed the royal crown that sat on his head and brushed some wisps of hair out of his face. Then he heard the sound that he had been dreading.

"Zuko!" Mai had been yelling a lot more with Ashina running around. The child reminded Zuko a little bit too much of his sister. He was a little bit worried about that. Whenever the three year old spent time with him she was sweet and she would play with his hair and ask him cute questions. If left her alone would have been so bad with kids. He thought that she would have just gotten bored of Ashina or something. Zuko got up wearily from his chair and fixed his clothing. He always wondered what it was like for his uncle raising a child. He had written Iroh several letters about her over the years. His uncle always sent back satisfying advice.

"Coming Mai" He called, walking into the hall. The guards bowed to him as he went by. Sometimes Zuko wondered if he would ever get used to being the Fire Lord. He had been prepared for it his whole life, but some things still surprised him. His wife's screaming was coming from Ashina's nursery, which is where most of the yelling came from. Zuko sighed before he turned the corner and entered the room. One of Ashina's nannies had her hand in what looked like a bucket of cold water. Mai was standing in the middle of the room looking at Ashina. Zuko's daughter sat innocently on the other side of the room against the wall. One of her dolls was on the floor and its head had been ripped in half.

"What happened?" Zuko asked, while Mai began the story. Apparently, the nanny had come in to give Ashina the new doll that Uncle Iroh had sent her. Ashina had loved the doll and began playing immediately. The nanny, however, had to put her to bed for her naptime. When she tried to take the doll away from Ashina and put her in a crib, Ashina had fought for the doll and burned the lady's hand. Mai came in when she heard the woman screaming. Mai tore the doll away from Ashina and it broke. This made Ashina even more upset and she refused to have her nap. Since then, Mai had apparently been trying to get her to nap.

Zuko reviewed the situation and first he moved to Mai. He put his hands on her shoulders and calmed her down. Mai turned to him and looked like she was almost at tears. He nodded silently to her and she gave him a big hug. He whispered in her ear and told her he would deal with it. She left the room dejectedly and he knew he would talk to her after Ashina was in bed. After asking the nanny to leave, Zuko turned to Ashina, who turned to the side and sat on the ground.

"Ashina" Zuko said softly, but he was immediately cut off by his daughter.

"She broke it. She wanted to take Lili away. I no sleep." Zuko knew that this would take patience. He found that Ashina always had a good point, even for a three year old. He had found that she was a very intelligent. It made him afraid that she would end up like Azula, so Zuko tried to show her a lot of love. He simply wished that Mai could be equally as patient.

"She just wanted you to take a nap, Ash," He knew that she loved her nickname. "You won't have any energy to play with Dad if you don't nap. Look, Ash. I need you to stop playing with fire. You hurt that woman today and she was only trying to help you. Fire can be dangerous and you shouldn't use it until you're ready. Promise me you'll take a nap and I will read you Uncle Iroh's letter when you wake up. I will also write him to send you a new doll. How does that sound?" After this coaxing Ashina finally got into her bed. Zuko looked at her with affection. He never thought of it as her fault. It was all a misunderstanding. The more he thought about it, the more he realized that he was starting to think like Aang. He left her door open a crack so that Ashina wouldn't get scared. Then he walked down the hallway to his bedroom, where he knew Mai was waiting. As he opened the door, he saw her sitting on the bed with a towel on her face. She looked up and Zuko saw that she had been crying. She looked away from him.

"How do you do it?" She asked her voice sounding chocked. "Why does she listen to you so well? No matter what I ask her to do she always says no. No mom! No!" When she started to raise her voice, Zuko sat down next to her and put his large muscular arms around her. Him and Mai had had this conversation before, he hoped that she would learn something this time.

"You just have to talk to her, Mai" He said simply. "I think she just feels like you're ordering her too much. She's not just some servant who is forced to obey you. Force is not the way to get through to her. I think you just need to spend more time with her." After 8 years of becoming great friends with the Avatar, Zuko's social skills had improved a lot. He knew that Mai struggled with children, but she could be friends.

"Why does she love you more than me?" Mai asked, almost crying again. Zuko shook his head and wiped away her tears. He looked straight into her eyes and frowned.

"She still loves you Mai," He whispered. "She just thinks that you don't love her." This problem had been going on with Mai and Ashina ever since Ashina's had been able to talk and walk. She wanted to spend a lot of time with Zuko and it drove Mai a little crazy. She seemed to think that Ashina loved Zuko more. However, Ashina had asked Zuko many times "Why does mommy not like me?" He knew they just needed to communicate.

Zuko and Mai talked on like this until he had calmed her down and convinced her of her daughters love. She almost smiled at him and decided that she wanted to take a nap and then have a bath. Zuko told her to do that and he left to room to find solitude. He had never thought that having a family could be so crazy. It was almost his birthday too and he felt so much older. He had also started to grow a bit of a beard, but knew that Mai would make him shave it for the party. He hoped that his Uncle could make it back in time. He had told Aang about it months ago, but he assumed that his friend was too busy with rebuilding the temples.

Zuko went out on one of the many palace balconies. From there he could see the whole royal city. The street bustled with people. Now that he was the Fire Lord and not just the Prince it was even harder for him to go into town. He always loved taking Ashina; there was so much for her to see. He loved her so much and knew that Mai did too; they just had to work some things out. As he stared out in the city Zuko saw a big crowd beginning to gather on the far side of the city. He thought it might be a parade in his honour or something, but it got closer and he realized there were no floats. Suddenly something flew up from the group of specks, which were getting steadily closer. It got bigger and bigger before Zuko finally recognized it. Momo flew at him on the balcony and made him want to jump out his skin. That meant that Aang was here.

Zuko ran through the palace at top speed, Momo flying behind him. He stopped at his bedroom and he abruptly opened the door, calling for Mai to wake up and greet the Avatar. She got up wearily and Zuko got some servants to help her with her hair. Then they both ran through the palace and they even took one of the secret passageways. The Fire Lord and Lady appeared in their entrance hall looking a little bit dishevelled. Irritatingly, Momo landed on Zuko's shoulder and started grooming his fur. Zuko wanted to shake him off, but then decided not to. The servants opened the giant Fire Palace entrance doors and The Fire Lord and Lady walked out to greet their party.

It was a beautifully sunny day outside. Zuko saw that their friends had already reached the gates, which were being opened for them. Once open, the party sped forwards and came into Zuko's view. In the front were Iroh and Toph, who both looked like they were talking about something intelligent. Directly behind Toph was a man that Zuko had never seen before, but he looked confused by their conversation. A little bit behind them and in front of their huge flying bison, Aang and Katara held hands as they walked. Sitting on Aang's back, Zuko saw Suki and Sokka. He also saw Suki's condition and he smiled over at Mai, who was cleaning her nails. Zuko was happy to see her back to normal. Behind Appa, Sokka's crew were walking. They looked around amazed at the palace. None of them had been to the Fire Nation before. Once they reached the steps of the palace the whole party stopped and Aang wandered to the front. Zuko spoke first.

"Avatar Aang," he said, formally. He kept his face completely serious. Aang smiled at him and then attempted a serious face.

"Fire Lord Zuko," He said, his voice wavering with a laugh. Zuko never knew Aang to keep a straight face. His face, however, never wavered with its expression. He looked down at his friend and said with complete seriousness.

"I believe I have found your lemur," He said, looking a Momo who sat on his shoulders. Everyone in the courtyard started to laugh with Aang. The Avatar pulled Zuko into a hug and Zuko knew that he would have an exciting birthday.


	5. Preparations

Chapter 5 – Preparations

Katara smiled at Suki as she watched her trying to pick up the bottle of water that she dropped. Suki could not bend over because of her baby stomach in the way. She was working so hard to bend her knees and touch the ground without falling over. Mai's servants kept offering their services, but Suki refuses, being as stubborn as she could be. Katara walked over to the scene and offered her assistance, but Suki also refused.

"Don't Katara!" Suki growled. She was a lot more moody than Katara remembered her. "I can do this on my own. It's just a glass of water." After what felt like forever, Suki's fingers touched the glass. Her face was becoming red with they effort. The cup was on its side and if it had only been the other was up Suki could grab it. Wanting to help, Katara flicked her fingers, making the water on the floor push the glass back onto its other side. Then Suki grabbed it and raised the glass over head in victory.

"I did it!" She yelled, hugging Katara. She even ran to give Mai a hug, but then thought better of it. "I told you I could! You just didn't believe in me," Katara laughed and looked at Mai, who was yawning and checking the dirt beneath her nails.

"That was amazing," Mai said sarcastically. "Now if you don't mind, I have a three year old to look after." She sauntered off without a spring in her step. Katara was finding it really weird being friends with her. She knew that Mai was trying, but it was impossible to find something they had in common when Mai hated everything; everything except Ashina and Zuko.

"Who put Momo's hair in her porridge this morning?" Toph asked, walking into the room. Katara knew that she was probably feeling their vibrations in the other room, but didn't mention it. Mai and Toph didn't even try to get along. Toph avoided her all the time.

"She's just a little tired." Katara said, creating an excuse for Mai. "Ashina was crying a lot in the night." The lie was partly true. Aang and Katara had been woken up by the child's screams in the night time, but luckily she had been shushed up quickly.

"Yeah," Toph retorted. "But Mai didn't get up once, it was all Zuko. He's way more devoted to Ash than you would think." Toph blew her bangs out of her face and left the breakfast room as well. Katara looked at Suki, who simply shrugged her shoulders. Both of them left the room too. Only the women had been at breakfast that morning. Sokka had surprised them by taking all of the other boys for a private beach party. Zuko and Aang had wanted to stay and help prepare for the birthday, but they had been unwillingly dragged away by Huka and Sokka. They also went with some of Sokka's crew members, his first mate, Feng, and their cook, Sira. The women weren't supposed to know, but Aang had been thoughtful enough to leave Katara a note, so that she wouldn't worry.

"Katara! Suki!" Katara was startled out of her thoughts by a loud, happy voice. She looked around, noticing that she had walked into the garden behind Suki. Looking out among the flowers she saw a smiling Ty Lee running over to her. Behind her, to Katara's surprise, Haru was being pulled by the wrist. Haru and Ty Lee?

"Hiya!" Ty Lee grinned as she finally caught up to them. "Oh! This is my new friend Haru. He's an earthbender." Ty Lee looked pretty much the same as she did 8 years ago. She was a little bit taller, but physically she looked the same. Ty Lee was wearing Earth Kingdom clothing and she now carried two Kyoshi Warrior fans with her. After Suki left Kyoshi Island, she made Ty Lee the new leader of the Kyoshi Warriors. Ty Lee wasn't wearing the traditional makeup, but Katara figured that was because she wasn't on duty.

"I know Haru," Katara said, pulling the earthbender into a hug. Haru was much taller and he still had his moustache and goatee. He looked a lot older though and his muscles had definitely grown. "It's been such a long time. How are you doing?" Haru smiled down at Katara and told her about him and Ty Lee meeting while he was on Kyoshi Island. It sounded like they really loved being together. They had met down by the beach after Haru's ship was destroyed by the Unagi. Ty Lee pulled him out of the water.

"When I woke up Ty was standing over me, staring down at me with those beautiful eyes." Haru looked at Ty Lee when he said this and her eyes began to sparkle. Katara and Suki watched with surprise as she ran to Haru and kissed him on the lips. They didn't pull away, so Katara and Suki awkwardly walked away, leaving the two lovers.

"I'm glad Haru has found love." Suki said, as she and Katara continued to walk through the garden. "It's very rare that you get something that special. I know I've been kind on mean to your brother lately, but I know that we share that. I just know." While she was speaking her hand came up to her stomach and she looked down. Katara smiled at her friend. Katara knew that she shared that with Aang as well. She loved him so much.

"You know what I miss," Suki said, looking from her stomach to Katara. "I don't think I've seen my toes for 3 months!"

***

"Last one in the water is a boiled unagi!" Sokka yelled. He dropped all of his belongings on the beach and ran towards the water, pulling his shirt off on the way. Aang, who was walking slowly at the back of the group, smiled and accepted Sokka's challenge. He used his bending to speed up his running as she ran past the other five guys. He threw off his shirt and put his stuff in the sand and ran out onto the water. Then he stopped sunk into the ocean. The water felt relaxingly cool against his skin. Then Aang swam to the surface and began to swim back to the beach.

"Aw Man!" Aang heard Sokka's yelling over the sound of the waves. "How did I end up last?" His question was greeted with laughing as Sira and Feng pulled him into the water with them. The two crew members had proven to be good friends, but they were both a little slow, like Huka. As Aang finally got back, he saw that Zuko was already leaving the water. Zuko was setting up an umbrella and laying his towel out in the sand. Aang got out of the water too and he used an airbending blast to get all of the water off of his body.

"Hey!" Aang heard Zuko's voice. He turned around to see the Fire Lord covered in ocean water and sand. The other's, who were playing with a ball in the water, turned to see the commotion and laughed. Aang could hear that Sokka's laugh was louder than the others.

"Sorry Zuko." Aang said, although he was smiling. "I guess I just wasn't thinking." Zuko smiled a little bit after that and Aang knew that he didn't mind. Aang then wandered over to the Fire Lord and sat down next to him in the sand, soaking up the Fire Nation sun. There were almost no clouds in the summer sky and Aang could only hear the sounds of the waves.

"So," Zuko's voice interrupted Aang's thoughts. "How are things with Katara? You two look really happy together." He was just pointed out the obvious, but Aang was happy that his awkward friend was trying to socialize. He opened his eyes and turned to Zuko with a smile stretched across his face.

"It's fantastic!" The Avatar laughed. "I love every minute with her. I never want to be away from her. She is incredible." Aang lay back in the sand with thoughts of Katara flying through his head. Just thinking about her made him long to run back to the palace and propose to her right then. He had found confidence in all the wrong moments. If only he had told her that day at the temple. Then they would be celebrating Zuko's birthday and their engagement. He would feel a lot more relaxed once he asked her at Zuko's party.

"So when are you getting married?" Aang opened his eyes again and looked at his friend, blushing. He wasn't going to tell Zuko, but because his friend had asked, he decided that it might be a good idea not to lie to the Fire Lord.

"W-what?" He stuttered at first. It was a very unexpected question. "Um…I was actually going to ask her at your party. If you don't mind me taking the spotlight off of you for a while." Aang shrugged his shoulders and glanced sideways at Zuko. He saw the look of surprise on his face. His smile had vanished and he looked even more embarrassed than aang felt.

"Really?" Zuko's voice quivered. "Wow, I was joking but congratulations. It will be really great. How are you going to ask her?" Aang was happy to find that his friend was interested. He had not thought that Zuko would be into talking about things like marriage or things like that. He wondered if next they would start talking about babies and Ashina.

"Well, I'm doing it traditional Water Tribe style. I carved her necklace and everything." As Aang said this, he pulled the necklace out of his bag. It had the Air Nomad symbol on it with a blue jewel placed in the middle. He had spent a long time trying to find the perfect jewel. "Then I was going to wait a little into the party and take her out onto the balcony to ask her." Then Aang thought he heard Zuko sigh. He looked over and saw that his friend was staring out at the ocean, trying to look uninterested.

"Right…" Zuko said awkwardly. He was obviously trying to get away from the girly subject of marriage. "Do you want me to specially decorate one of the balconies? I could do it just for you." Aang laughed at how silly that proposition sounded and watched Zuko blush and squirm.

"No that's alright." Aang said through his giggles. As he laughed, he watched the other guys come out of the water. Sokka shook his shaggy mane of hair all over the beach. He looked entirely relaxed and content. The other Water Tribe members got out behind him and Huka took a few moments to realize that everyone had left him behind. They were all talking about their awesome game of ball as they came up behind Zuko.

"Wow, that sounds great Aang." Zuko said, not knowing that the whole group of guys was standing behind him. "I wish my proposal to Mai had been a little more romantic. I just put a ring in her drink for one of our dates. I guess that's a little cheesy though. She thought it was boring, but she accepted, so what does that tell you." Aang was about to respond when Sokka started laughing. Through his laughter, Aang heard words like "girly" and "marriage". Zuko went completely red and he quickly grabbed his stuff and started the long walk back to the palace.

"Hey!" Sokka ran after him, pulling his clothes on as he went. "Zuko, c'mon! I was just kidding around. Aang and I talk about Suki all the time!" Aang followed with a smile on his face. His friends hadn't changed a bit.

The walk from the beach to the palace was long, but once they got into the city, they were greeted by Zuko's servants and Zuko got to ride above the rest of the group. Aang had to walk in front of the others, because he was the Avatar. He knew that it didn't bother Sokka, because the Water Tribe captain got asked for more autographs than Zuko. More people than Aang had thought had heard of the Intelligent Sokka. He had more fans in the Fire Nation than in the Earth Kingdom. The Fire Lord's party entered the palace gates just as the sun was going down in the west. As they walked closer, Aang saw Mai and Katara standing on the steps. Katara didn't look angry, but Mai had more emotion than Aang had ever seen on her face. She actually looked agitated. In her arms slept Ashina, who was getting a little too big to be carried around by her mother. Once they reached the steps, the servants lowered Zuko and he stepped out, only to find himself face to face with Mai and sleeping Ashina.

"Hi, love" Zuko said in what Aang guessed was his sweetest voice. Mai's gaze softened a little, but she still kept her glare straight. Aang walked up to steps to Katara, who grabbed his hand and pulled him inside, to avoid eavesdropping on Zuko and Mai. Her eyes were sparkling as she pulled him into the castle and she yanked him into a huge hug. Katara's skin felt so warm against Aang's skin. He relaxed in her arms and squeezed her gently.

"Thanks for you note" Katara whispered in Aang's ear. It was nice to hear her voice after spending a long day with a bunch of boys. Aang had missed her a lot.

"No problem" He whispered back, pulling away and giving her a soft kiss on the lips. It felt so good to kiss her. A little voice in the back of his head told him to just ask her right then and there.

"How long do you think they will bicker for?" Katara changed the subject blushing. She started to pull Aang away from the palace entrance. Aang did not know the Fire Nation palace as well as Katara did, so he trusted her to take him where ever he was meant to go. He just wanted to be alone with her for a while.

"Until they alert the whole Fire Nation with their family problems." Aang said jokingly. He knew that Zuko wasn't nearby, so it was alright to joke about Zuko and Mai's strange relationship. "Sorry for letting your brother drag me off, he can be very persuasive." He had wanted to spend the day preparing for the party with Katara and Suki. He had missed holding her hand for the whole day, just to talk to Zuko for almost 10 minutes.

"Don't worry, I know what Sokka can be like when he's determined to do something. C'mon, I've got a surprise for you." Katara pulled a red piece of fabric from her wrist and she covered Aang's eyes, so that he would be really surprised. Aang used his earthbending to feel the world around him. He couldn't fully see with his feet, like Toph, but he could tell where things were around him and he didn't walk into anything.

"No earthbending!" Katara whispered in his ear. Aang tried to stop, but it had become so second nature, that he had to concentrate on Katara's soft hands in order to not think about it. Suddenly Aang's feet left solid rock and he felt grass and dirt beneath his feet. He figured that they were in the garden, but what were they doing there? Then Katara threw off his blindfold and Aang gasped happily. The garden was lit up with colourful lamps and there was a small table with two chairs right next to the lake. There were pandalillies in the center. There was a beautiful dinner made with a dish from each of the four nations.

"Katara," Aang could barely breath. "This is incredible." He looked into his lover's face and Katara blushed. She pulled Aang over to the table and they both sat down. She poured them some Fireberry Wine and raised her glass.

"Don't say anything," She said coyly. "Lets make a toast. To the four nations!"

"To us!" Aang cried, lifting his glass too. He looked into her eyes smiling.

"To us." Katara said softly, before taking a long drink.


	6. The Loud Party

Chapter 6 – A Loud Party

Katara couldn't believe how many people had showed up. It seemed that the whole Fire Nation had come, with half of the Earth Kingdom and a few scattered Water Tribe members. She hoped that Aang wasn't missing the Air Nomads too much, the fact that the other three nations had appeared had to bother him a little. She turned to look at him and she saw him smiling at the scene around him. Katara was glad that he wasn't thinking as much as she was. For some reason she felt a bit nervous about this party, there were so many people that they knew. Even some of the Freedom Fighter had made it. Zuko was extending his nations kindness to the rest of the world very gently. After Jet's death, the gang had broken up, but Smellerbee, Longshot and The Duke had managed to make the party. All of the Kyoshi Warriors were there too. Mai's little brother Tom Tom came, but he stuck close to his sister. Katara wasn't used to large groups of people, but she felt relaxed with Aang at her side.

She found that Aang had been acting a little strange all night though. He was very happy and relaxed, where Katara had expected him to be acting uptight and putting on a good Avatar face like he did at the Temple. She wasn't used to him being so calm around so many people. Maybe he was finally accepting his avatar role completely.

"Katara!" She heard her name being called from across the courtyard. Katara's eyes scanned the crowd to see who had called out her name. There were so many different people. Then, to Katara's surprise, she saw Smellerbee making her way through the crowd. She had grown a lot taller than the last time that Katara had seen her. Her ratted hair was still messy, but much longer. She had matured a lot and Katara had heard of her and Longshot living together in an Earth Kingdom village near the swamp.

"Hi." Katara said, enthusiastically. Aang had pulled his hand away from Katara. She turned to face him, giving him the "_don't leave me!_" look. He smiled brightly and mumbled something about drinks. Katara watched as his bald head bobbed through the crowd. She hoped that he wouldn't take too long. She didn't know Smellerbee very well and wasn't sure how long their conversation would last.

"It's great to see you," Smellerbee said, after she had made her way through the crowd. Katara noticed she seemed very happy. Right away, Smellerbee gave Katara a friendly, but hard, punch on the shoulder. "I've been so excited for this night. Although it is quite strange to be here in the Fire Nation. I still find it hard to forgive them for what they've done, but Longshot is helping me through." It was at that moment that Katara saw Longshot standing behind her. Katara couldn't believe that she hadn't seen him before.

"I'm really glad you could make it." Katara said in her sweetest voice. She was sure that Smellerbee wanted to talk to her for a specific purpose, but she wasn't sure what that reason was yet. "I'm sure Aang is happy to see you here. He just went off to grab some drinks." Looking over the crowd, Katara could see Aang orange and yellow clothing from far away. It appeared that he had been caught up at the table by an Earth Kingdom general.

"Listen, Katara." Smellerbee said, frankly. She brought Katara back in to the moment. "Longshot and I need a huge favour." _Uh, oh. Here it comes._ Katara thought. "The war has been over for almost 8 years now, but there are still parts of the Earth Kingdom that need rebuilding. Before we came here, we went to visit Jet's old village…and…ugh…" Smellerbee put her head down and Katara could tell she was trying not to cry. Longshot silently put his hand on her shoulder and Smellerbee found the strength to go on.

"We found our old hideout and it brought back some… great memories. We decided that we – don't look at me like that." Katara was dreading that they'd want to build another gang that would start a whole new fight. She was silently dreading it and hoping that it didn't read on her face. Apparently it did. "I don't want to start up the gang. I just want to build a village up there in the trees. We wanted to call it Jet"

Katara frowned when she thought of this, but quickly realized that this would be a very good idea. She figured that it was a very peaceful way to keep Jet's memory alive. She was about to respond when she felt a hand on her shoulder. Katara looked around and saw Zuko standing right beside her. He was dressed up in his formal Fire Lord attire. Katara saw him as a friend, but she thought about Smellerbee and Longshot's opinion of the Fire Nation. When she looked at them, she saw that they both had reverted to emotionless faces. Awkwardly, Katara began conversation again.

"Uh… Smellerbee, Longshot," Katara could feel the back of her neck sweating. "This is my good friend, Fire Lord Zuko." She thought she saw Smellerbee's eyes widen a bit when she realized that this was the Fire Lord. They both nodded curtly and mumbled their enjoyment of coming.

"I'll talk to you more about _that_ later, Katara." Smellerbee whispered in to her ear as she slowly walked away from Zuko, with Longshot at her side. Katara let out a huge sigh once they had gone and she heard Zuko chuckle next to her. She looked up at him; he almost seemed to loom over her. She was glad to see him after such a long separation from their group. She sometimes wished they could just fly around the world on Appa again and practice their bending along the way. Too bad that they all were masters now.

"So, those are what's left of the Freedom Fighters." Zuko said, still chuckling. "I'm glad their still carrying on their leader's tradition of hating the Fire Lord." Katara finally smiled for the first time all night.

"Are you actually having fun at your own party, Zuko?" Katara said, taunting him. She knew that he could let loose, but he was usually more stiff when he was the Fire Lord. Zuko looked down at her and Katara noticed him giving her a strange look. It was very secretive; it made his amber eyes twinkle. _Does Zuko know something that I don't know?_ She wondered. Her thoughts were broken up by Aang returning.

"Sorry I took so long." He apologized immediately. "General Yu wanted to go over some of the reconstruction plan for some of the larger Earth Kingdom villages, but I told him I'd have to meet with him tomorrow. And who really wants to business on one of their best friend's birthday, right?" When he said this he looked at Zuko. Katara watched them as they exchanged that strange look she had noticed before. What was going on that she didn't know?

"Well, I hope you two don't mind," Zuko began. Katara saw him eying Mai and Ashina in the corner of the ballroom. "I've got a little girl to check up on. I'll come and talk with you two later." Zuko was surprisingly graceful as he walked away from them through the crowd.

"Whew," Aang said and he pulled Katara close. He leaned in close and Katara thought that he wanted a kiss. Then he swiftly moved his mouth to her ear and said. "Do you want to go and get some air?" Katara loved being so close to him. She wanted him to just hold her in his arms. She slowly nodded, just wanting to be alone with him so that they could kiss, without anymore distractions. He led her across the dance floor holding her hand the whole time. She went out to one of the palaces many balconies, which had been decorated for the party. Katara pulled away from him and leaned against the edge with her elbows. She felt Aang put his warm arm down beside her. The Fire Nation air was a lot warmer and tropical than she was used to. She took a deep breath before she turned to look at her favourite airbender.

"Katara," he began. She looked deep into his amazing grey eyes. She sometimes wanted to just drown herself in them. "You know how much I love you, right?" Katara smiled and blushed at Aang's words. She had know for a long time that Aang was the only person that she wanted in her life. She put her hand on the side of his face and gave him a soft kiss. His lips were amazingly soft and Katara wanted him to scoop her up in his arms.

"Yeah, I know." She softly. She wasn't exactly sure where Aang was going with this, but there was a growing suspicion in her chest. Could Aang possibly be asking her what she thought he was going to ask her? Her heart almost leapt out of her chest at the thought of it.

"Katara, I would give you the stars if I could! I love you more than… than… The ocean follows the moon. You are the only person that I want to be with." Katara looked down for a moment. His words were so powerful and she was just waiting for what would come next.

"Katara." Aang's fingers grabbed her chin and lifted her head up so that she could look into his eyes. "W- will… will y-you…" Katara's heart was doing backwards somersaults. She wondered what happened to Aang former confidence. She just wanted him to say it so that she could kiss him again.

"CAKE TIME!" A scream came from inside the party. Ty Lee suddenly ran out from the crowd and jumped on to Katara. Katara was frazzled and a little angry. She looked at Aang hopelessly, who looked like he had just been sat on by Appa. Katara shrugged and mouthed to him "_Tell me later_" as Ty Lee pulled her into the large crowd of people. She was chattering about cake and how she wanted to be at the front of the line. Somewhere along the way she grabbed Mai's arm. Katara tried to smile at her, but Mai looked grumpier than ever.

***

Aang sat on the balcony dejectedly. He had been so close. He knew that she had been waiting for him to say it. Why didn't he just spit it out before Ty Lee interrupted them? Turning his back on the party, Aang started to hit himself on the forehead.

"Hey loverboy," Sokka's voice drifted over to him. "So when are you and my sister getting married? I want to have another awesome party like this one!" Aang could tell Sokka was a little drunk, but that didn't make a difference. He was glad to have someone to talk to.

"I don't think I ever will, Sokka." Aang sounded defeated. "Why is proposing so hard?" Aang looked at Sokka, who looked like he wanted to laugh at him. Aang was guessing that proposing to Suki hadn't been this hard. Sokka was just going to make fun of him.

"Nothing is easy, flyboy." Aang wondered where the random nicknames had come from. Wasn't that a Toph thing? "Just look at Toph and Huka. They are going to have a crazy relationship. I don't how long it will last though. That Huka is a little too stupid for Toph." Aang sighed. Sokka's mumblings did take him mind off of his misfortunes, but it didn't really help him.

"Thanks Sokka." Aang said, putting a hand on his friends shoulder before looking back into the party.

"Anytime, buddy." And then Sokka burped.


	7. Only a Bison Ride Away

**Author's Notes: Hello all! This is my apology for focusing more on school than my stories. For that I am solemnly sorry. I promise that in the summer I will have a lot more free time on my hands to write for you. This one is almost finished. There is only one remaining chapter to write. Lucky for you guys, this is the chapter when it finally happens. (Woot! Go Aang!) But there's a special magical ending for you, when I find the time to write it. Hope you guys like it, please Read and Review. **

***

Chapter 7 – Only a Bison Ride Away

The Fire Nation palace had emptied very quickly after Zuko's party was over. It had only been three days and only Aang, Sokka, Suki, Toph and Katara were left. Sokka's crew had manned his boat back to the South Pole for him. Huka went back to Ba Sing Se with Iroh to spend some time working in the tea shop. Toph seemed almost relieved to see him leave. Katara and Aang had had barely anytime together. Between taking down the party and meetings about the rebellious earth kingdom, they had seen each other only at meals. Aang couldn't help feeling like he'd never find another moment to propose to Katara. He kept the necklace in his pocket at all times, just in case a moment came up. He figured that Katara had probably forgotten about his attempt at the party. She'd been spending all her time chatting with Ty Lee and babysitting Ashina with Mai.

Aang opened his eyes slowly and sat up in his bed. He had been up late at another Peace meeting. He was almost expecting for there to be an Earth Kingdom general waiting for him in his room when he woke up. He rubbed his blurred eyes and threw the blankets off of his pale body. Aang stood up slowly so that he wouldn't get dizzy, then he proceeded to open the curtains that showed Zuko's outside garden. He didn't have any meetings planned for the day and really didn't want one to be organized. He wondered what time it was and hoped that Katara hadn't gone off somewhere with Mai. Mai had been spending an odd amount of time with Katara, which surprised Aang. He still found it weird that they were friends.

After clumsily getting dressed, Aang made his way out into the empty Fire Palace hallways. He noticed that it looked extra shiny and clean. The statues loomed over him as he groggily made his way to the breakfast room. He wasn't used to all of the shiny tapestries and rich paintings in the Fire Nation Palace. Aang missed the stone hallways of the temples. He opened the door to the breakfast room slowly, so that he wouldn't distract the rest of them from their conversation, but he was surprised that no one was in the room. There was some food on table, but all of the plates were untouched. Aang then realized that he hadn't heard Toph's laughter from the hallways.

Swiftly he left the breakfast room and began his search around the palace. He started at Zuko's bedroom. He found no one, not even the usual guard outside his door. Then he went to Ashina's room and found her toys covering the floor. He went to all of his friends' bedroom; even Katara's and found them empty and clean. It was almost like everyone had accidentally left without him, but then Aang remembered that Zuko couldn't leave; he was the Fire Lord.

Confused he wandered back to his room. Where could they have all gone? Something that was on his bedroom door caught his eye. It was a note. He grabbed it off the wall quickly, greedy to read what was inside. He recognized Katara's writing before he'd read a word.

_Dear Aang,_

_I hope that you are doing alright. I was going to wake you up this morning to come with us, but you seemed so tired that I thought it was better if you slept. We decided to take one of Zuko's ships out to Ember Island this morning and spend our last couple of days there. Zuko wants to have a little party with some of the Fire Nation nobles in his renovated Beach House. It's Ashina's first time going and he wants it to be special for her. You can fly here on Appa whenever you wake up. I'm really looking forward to seeing you again. Can't wait till you're here. _

_Love,_

_Katara_

Aang finished the letter in less than 20 seconds. He couldn't believe that they had left without even waking him up. Furious, he stomped into his room and threw himself down on the bed. There was a mean part of him that didn't want to go. He wondered what they would do if he just wrote them a letter from the temple to tell them he wasn't coming. But then, after imagining the look on Katara's face, Aang knew that he had to go. If he didn't then he couldn't propose to her at Zuko's party.

Grumpily Aang started to pack his clothes and tidy his room. He refused to let Zuko make a servant do it when he could clean it easily. After packing he grabbed his glider from the side of the wall and left. He went to the kitchen first, so that he could grab some food, then it was off to Appa's paddock. As he got closer he heard a familiar chattering. Momo flew from around a corner and landed on Aang shoulder.

"Hello friend," Aang laughed at his lemur. "I'm glad you didn't leave me behind." Aang tossed him a couple of nuts and scratched Momo's favourite place behind his ear. Momo purred and chattered and then flew off in the direction of the paddock. Aang took this as a race attempt and he smiled. Using his airbending he quickly took off at a swift run. He let he bag fly out behind him and laughed like a child. As he ran through the Palace hallways, trying to keep up with Momo, the tapestry's fluttered wildly. He thought he even saw one of the statues wiggle. Seconds later Aang flew to a halt in Appa's paddock, with Momo only two seconds behind him.

"Ha!" Aang exclaimed. "I am the winner of this first annual Flying Lemur Race!" With triumph he threw his bag up on to Appa's saddle, which had already been conveniently placed on his back. Appa lifted his head and grunted, but Aang heard something else.

"Ouch," there came a voice from on top of the saddle. Aang frowned in confusion. He blew downwards, catapulting his body into the air and onto Appa's saddle. There was apparently someone taking a nap in the saddle. To Aang's surprise he found Katara sitting there rubbing her head. Her hair was a little messy and she looked tired, but Aang was still glad to see her. She smiled at him droopily and Aang felt happiness just gushing out of him. She had waited for him. She had decided to wait for him so that they could go to Ember Island together.

"Hi Aang," She almost whispered. He stared with disbelief into her deep blue eyes. "I only decided to stay after writing you that note. I didn't realize that you would sleep in so long though." With those last few words, Katara yawned widely. Aang pulled her in for a kiss directly afterwards. At first she was surprised, but then she accepted it. Aang could barely contain his joy.

"So you're not mad about us leaving you behind?" She said, looking incredibly sorry. Aang knew that she had only done it for his well-being, just like Katara did everthing. He pulled her in to a hug and said.

"It was for my own good," They talked together as Aang prepared Appa for the flight. He knew now when he was going to ask her. He also knew that he would have the confidence to say something. After they had found Momo and loaded the saddle with supplies, Aang sat on Appa's back, with Katara at his right arm and they took off with a hearty:

"Yip yip!"

***

Once they were flying over the ocean Aang moved to the main part of the saddle to sit with Katara. They had been talking about their last journey around the world. Katara was remembering when they had been attacked by those pirates because of that small waterbending scroll. She thought about all that she knew now and laughed at how desperate she had been to have that scroll.

"I never thought I would be teaching young waterbenders from the Southern Water Tribe. I couldn't have imagined teaching anyone." Katara was staring out at the see and the passing islands. Sokka had tried to convince her to come with them to Ember Island, but she wouldn't have been able to forgive herself if she'd left Aang all alone in that palace. Wiping one of her hair loops out of her face, Katara turned around and looked at Aang, who had been staring at the back of her head. He immediately looked away, inconspicuously, but that just made Katara giggle.

"I don't know." Aang replied, looking up at the clouds, trying to hide his blush. "I thought that you were an incredibly teacher." With his last few words he looked directly at Katara and then it was her turn to look away. She felt her heart glow when she saw his grey eyes.

"Zuko's party was really amazing." Katara decided to change the subject. "I didn't think there would be that many people there, but I guess he is the Fire Lord." She found it so strange being best friends with the Fire Lord. She never thought that would happen in her lifetime. While reminiscing she leaned back in the saddle and closed her eyes, soaking up the Fire Nation sunshine.

"That was nothing." Aang's voice made her open up her eyes again. "I bet if I had a birthday the entire world would come. Even Bumi would be able to make it to my party." Katara looked as Aang shot her a cheesy smile, almost like he was trying to impress her. She laughed and shot him a cheeky glance.

"But you're the Avatar." She said, very matter-of-factly. "The entire world is obligated to come to your party. You've saved everyone." Katara moved closer to Aang and she felt him tense up a bit, before relaxing. Once she got close enough, he slowly moved his arms around her shoulders.

"Well… You helped a little bit." Katara rested her head on Aang's chest and she heard his heartbeat speed up. She smiled and was glad that he'd actually given her the credit. "If it wasn't for you, then Azula might be the Fire Lord and then we'd still be at war." Katara lifted her head up and she looked into Aang's grey eyes. He smiled at her and brought his face very close to hers.

"Have I told you that I love you today?" Katara's heart stopped at these words. She looked away blushing. Then she felt Aang's cold fingers on her chin. He lifted her face up and she looked back into his bottomless eyes.

"Not yet." She said simply, and Aang laughed sweetly. Katara couldn't help but smile at her lover. She felt so warm and so safe with him. She never wanted this moment to end. Katara leaned in and gave Aang a small kiss on his cold cheek, before resting her head back down on his chest.

"Do you remember the balcony at Zuko's party?" Aang sounded a little nervous. Katara had completely forgotten about their little outing. She remembered the beautiful view and the wonderful moment they had shared. It was Ty Lee's fault for tearing her away for some cake.

"Yeah, it was really beautiful." Katara simply said. For some odd reason, she heard Aang's heartbeat get faster again. Frowning, she pulled her head off of his chest and looked him in the eyes again.

"There was something that I wanted to ask you." Katara's eyes widened. She'd also forgotten about their conversation. Aang pulled his arm away from Katara's shoulder and he sat facing her. There was a small part of Katara that knew what was coming next, but she didn't want to believe it. "Katara, you know how much I love you and how much I've always loved you. Ever since the day that I woke up from the ice and saw your beautiful face staring down at me. I always want you to be with me and the travel with me all over the world."

Aang reached behind his back and Katara saw his grab something from his pocket. She frowned, not believing it to be real. It was too soon, it was too late. She was happy, she was sad. Her head was screaming for her to think, but her heart was screaming at her to simply saw yes before Aang even asked the question. He couldn't be asking what she thought he was going to ask. Maybe she was just getting her hopes up.

Aang revealed a traditional Water Tribe engagement necklace. It had the symbol of the Air Nomad's carved into the polished wood. Katara felt tears coming to her eyes as Aang held it out to her.

"Katara of the Southern Water Tribe, would you do me the honour of marrying me?" Katara felt like she was falling into a pit. Tears streamed down her face and she smiled at Aang. He looked relived, yet confused at the same time. Katara guessed that tears weren't exactly what he'd been expecting.

"Oh Aang." Katara slowly lifted up her hands and took the necklace from Aang fingers. He lifted his hands up to her face and wiped away her tears. She looked directly into his eyes, then back down at the engagement necklace.

"I thought you'd never ask." Then she pulled her fiancé in for a kiss.


End file.
